Counting Down the Top 50 Most-Read Stories of 2018: 40-31

As 2018 comes to a close, we’re sharing our 2018 Top 50 Most-Read stories from trenchlesstechnology.com. Some of these posts date back more than a decade and show the breadth of knowledge, about all aspects of the trenchless industry, that is contained in the pages of Trenchless Technology and on our website. Here is a look at stories 40-31. Check in tomorrow for a look at 30-21.

From oil and gas projects to sewer work and every trenchless application in between, pipe selection is an important aspect of the planning process. In some instances, the options are limited to what the client specifies or the material the pipe is intended to transport and in other instances, the sky really is the limit. No matter the circumstance, what you need is a primer on what the different pipe varieties offer. To help you out, Trenchless Technology once again contacted pipe associations and manufacturers of the eight pipes typically used in trenchless projects to point out what their particular conduit offers. Read More

CDM Smith has been working with the City of Columbus, Ohio, over the past year to inspect and assess the condition of the Scioto Main, a 120-in. reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) sanitary sewer that flows into one of its two wastewater treatment plants. This sewer is one of the most critical assets in the City’s entire collection system. Although the sewer is only about 15-years-old, it is plagued with numerous PVC lining failures which are partially blocking the flow and periodically showing up at the Jackson Pike Wastewater Treatment Plant (JPWWTP) intake screens. Read More

Fold-and-form pipeliners are manufactured in a folded shape, then are thermoformed inside the pipe being rehabilitated. Fold-and-form pipelines are one of many tools in the trenchless pipe rehabilitation toolbox. Every tool in the toolbox is unique in its own right. Fold-and-form pipeliners, as one of the primary close-fit pipe rehabilitation technologies, have many features to distinguish it from all other technologies. Among these, the most distinctive feature is that fold-and-form pipeliners are pre-manufactured. Read More

Michels Canada undertook a rehabilitation project for the Regional Municipality of York in the form of a pilot study to determine if a spray-on geopolymer, produced by Milliken Infrastructure Solution LLC, was a suitable permanent structural tunnel lining for the total rehabilitation of the pipe. The study took place from November 2016 to May 2017 in Markham, Ontario, where the team rehabilitated approximately 30 m, but extended to 74 m, of a 2,692 mm diameter sewer pipe. Read More

Of the many types of geological matter that compose the Earth’s surface, none is more abundant than rock. This naturally formed aggregate of minerals constitutes 89.4 percent of the Earth’s surface; by far the most prevalent geological component of our planet. And while the hard property of rock provides a stable, firm foundation, it is also this characteristic that makes it the most challenging and time-consuming aspect facing underground construction contractors. Read More

It is a common missive in today’s water industry that we have let our water infrastructure decay to a point of imminent failure. Nearly every article in industry magazines today features some allusion to the $250 billion to $1 trillion investment needed to maintain our access to clean, safe water for future generations. The explanations for this are many, ranging from historical under-investment, to a shift in funding streams, to a lack of adequate maintenance. Read More

One of seven energy-distribution companies of NiSource Inc., with roots tracing back more than 125 years, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania’s distribution lines today serve more than 426,000 residential, industrial and government customers in 450 communities of 26 counties throughout Pennsylvania’s greater York and Western Pennsylvania service territories. One tool that Columbia Gas has been investigating for use in scheduled pipe replacement is an ingeniously simple strategy called the pipe slitting method. Read More

What is the I/I load on our local wastewater treatment plant? Is it at a problem level and how much is it costing us? How much I/I is occurring nationwide? How can EPA (or any state agency) develop a rational strategy for regulating permit holders and providing technical assistance without knowing solid information about the quantity, distribution, and magnitude of I/I in public sewer systems? These kinds of questions have troubled me since first working for the Tennessee Division of Water Pollution Control in 1976. Read More

Trenchless Technology’s 2017 Top 50 ranking reveals moderate, incremental growth. In presenting these results, Trenchless Technology’s goal over the past 20-plus years has been to give readers a glimpse of the work completed by top trenchless engineering companies, thereby offering a general impression of annual market performance. Even with the Jacobs-CH2M merger kept separate, CH2M retains its position at No. 1 for the third consecutive year, reporting $214 million in trenchless revenue in its last fiscal year. This marks the first time a No. 1-ranked firm has surpassed the $200 million mark on Trenchless Technology’s Top 50 ranking, and therefore, the largest figure ever recorded by Trenchless Technology for trenchless revenue in a fiscal year. Read More

It takes time, skill, up-to-date technology and dedicated contractors to safely and efficiently locate existing infrastructure. Many unforeseen challenges await contractors who plan to drill underground. Before contractors can use their utility locator and start digging underground, they need to first call Call Before You Dig, a nationwide utility locating service. However, to avoid catastrophic mistakes, it is imperative for contractors to verify lines with their own locator paired with the “soft-digging” method using a vacuum excavator. Read More

About Author

Mike Kezdi is an associate editor with Benjamin Media Inc. where he covers everything from compact equipment happenings, to the latest in trenchless technologies and oil and gas pipeline projects. Mike joined BMI in 2013 after seven years in the newspaper world at the top weekly newspaper chain in Northeast Ohio. Contact Mike at mkezdi@benjaminmedia.com